Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the issues and challenges in providing financing to the poor people based on the experience of Baitul Maal Wa Tamwil (BMT) in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach – A series of structured interviews were conducted with the chairman and staff of the Central BMT (Induk Koperasi Syariah) in Jakarta which is the head-quarter of 382 BMTs throughout Indonesia, with additional chairman and shari’ah supervisory in Central BMT (Pusat Koperasi Syariah) in Makasar. Subsequently, the results from the structured interviews were analyzed using qualitative analysis to arrive at the model of the peculiarities of financing the poor in Indonesia. Findings – The findings show that the Central BMT has built specific products and empowerment mechanisms for the poor and has an ideal product to be applied in 382 BMT in Indonesia. There are two schemes of financing source in BMT, namely, social ministry (Kelompok Usaha Bersama) and private financing (national and international donor). Specifically, the peculiarities of financing given in BMT are not only in the term of capital but also in the term of providing infrastructure and training for the poor. Moreover, collateral must be provided as a screening process for the poor people to secure any form of financing. If there is no collateral, potential borrowers must opt for joint-liability financing. Furthermore, if the poor could not repay the financing, endowment coming from charity and compulsory Islamic tax (zakat, infaq and sadaqah) would play a vital role to cover for the financing default. Lastly, religious capacity building is also provided as a part of risk management aspect. Research limitations/implications – This study was only conducted in Indonesia which focussed on the peculiarities of financing for the poor people in Indonesia BMT. Despite this limitation, the findings of this study enable the construction of a model that highlights the issues and challenges that might arise in financing the poor in general. Originality/value – The paper adds to the literature on Islamic microfinance by enabling researchers and practitioners to understand the model of Islamic microfinance in Indonesia. It also contributes toward enriching the knowledge in the Islamic microfinance area.

Purpose Baitul Maal wa Tamwil (BMT) is an Islamic microfinance institution created by combining the functionality of Baitul Maal and Baitul Tamwil in Indonesia. While Baitul Maal plays the role of an institution that collects funds from zakah, cash waqf, infaq and sadakah, Baitul Tamwil then distributes these funds in the form of Qardhul Hassan financing to the poor at the bottom of the economic pyramid (BOP). This study aims to explain the poverty alleviation effort by BMT regarding its role in providing Qardhul Hassan financing to the people at the BOP and provide practical suggestions to maximize the outreach performance of the BMT. Design/methodology/approach In this methodology, the study adopts the qualitative analysis of reviewing the literature and interviewing the BMT staff in Jakarta, Makassar and Nusa Tenggara Barat areas to present the views of the practitioners related to the role of Baitul Maal in giving Qardhul Hassan financing to the people at the BOP using appreciative intelligence framework. Findings The study finds that BMT in Indonesia needs several stage-specific structures and roles to be effective. In particular, there is a need to separate the function of Baitul Maal from Baitul Tamwil to enhance its role when giving Qardhul Hassan financing to the people at the BOP. The role of Baitul Maal in alleviating the poverty figure is also drawn in this study. Originality/value The findings of this study add to the literature on Baitul Maal by enabling researchers and practitioners to appreciate the role of Baitul Maal, and these findings also contribute towards enriching the knowledge in Baitul Maal and financing requirements of the poor at the BOP. This paper also contributes to the field of Islamic accounting which is currently getting prominent.

Organizational change plays an important to achieve the success of organizational change. The objective of this paper is to identify the role of leadership and employee condition on reaction to organizational change. This study was conducted at state-owned organizations with 539 respondents. The results showed that job satisfaction act as mediator between change leadership and individual readiness for change and commitment to change, and employee engagement was not significantly correlated with commitment to change. This research is important for organizational change management in order to plan and implement changes more effectively.

Purpose The aim of this research is to compare the differences of intermediation, fee-based service activity and efficiency of conventional banks vs Islamic banks in Indonesia for the 2011-2013 period. Moreover, this study also includes some control variables to find their effect on the dependent variables. Design/methodology/approach This research uses two methods, namely, stochastic frontier approach and panel data regression. Findings The result indicates that Islamic banks have a higher intermediation ratio, have higher proportion on fee income-to-total operating income and are less efficient. The control variable that has a positively significant effect on intermediation ratio is size; meanwhile, inefficiency and non–loan-earning asset are negatively affecting the intermediation ratio. The control variable that show a positively significant effect on the proportion of fee income-to-total operating income is size; meanwhile, the credit risk variable has no significant effect on the proportion of fee income-to-total operating income. Size and credit risk are the control variables that have a negative relation to efficiency. Originality/value This study has significantly contributed to Indonesian Islamic banking based on which the Islamic banking manager should recognize that the intermediation level, fee-based service activity and efficiency are crucially important in establishing competition and maintaining sustainable Islamic banking.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the pattern of contract agreement process to map various banks’ position in perceiving Sharia conduct. This is done by incorporating the dynamics of culture, market demand and Sharia literacy in different banks. Finding of this research will serve as the formula to map the latent degree of Islamic bank’s commitment to their strategic vision and identity as an Islamic-based financial institution. Design/methodology/approach This research develops its theoretical background in classical and contemporary literature review on murabahah contract in Islamic perspective. Focus group discussion (FGD) and in-depth interview are conducted on 32 bankers (in 14 Islamic banks), two National Sharia Council, five academicians and three central bank representatives as an input for qualitative analysis. Content analysis is utilized in this paper to emphasize the process of discovering the relationship between dynamic factors affecting contract agreement process in murabahah scheme in Indonesian banking. Findings There are four dimensions affecting the contract agreement: fairness to customer, country regulation, perceived business practicality and product characteristic. The four dimensions are assumed to be influenced with categories proposed, as the category item is mostly repeated and is perceived to be significant in the participant’s perspective. Originality/value This research will be beneficial in mapping the determinant of degree of Sharia compliance in Sharia banking in Indonesia, focusing on the contract agreement process.